(BARRY FARM, WASHINGTON, DC) –The last thing you want to do is come inside gates shorthanded, especially when you’re matched up against a mob like Ariyuan.

Grindtime had to find out the hard way, falling to Ariyuan, 67-38.

Marcus Ashton (Glenville State) led Ariyuan with 24 points, going 9-for-14 from the field. Six of those shots came from behind the arc, and four of those were in the first half.

Ashton is averaging 21 points this summer so far, leading Ariyuan to a 3-1 record.

During the first timeout of the contest after Ariyuan jumped out to an 18-4 lead six minutes into the game, head coach Hobo Chic told his squad, “END THIS EARLY…let’s go home!”

Q.J Peterson (VMI) also gave Ariyuan quality minutes, scoring 14 points, going 5-for-9 from the field. The six-foot guard hailing from West Virginia is new to the Gates but has been nothing short of exciting. Peterson had a couple and-1 finishes and dunks that made everybody take notice, one of which that was a one-dunk off the vertical that cleared the lane.

Derrell Armstrong (UNC-Greensboro) was Grindtime’s leading scorer with 10 points. The squad from Charles County, MD is usually one of the more competitive teams inside the gates, but they could never find their groove. It was over before it started.

The early game was much closer than Ariyuan’s blowout.

5th Street Bangers defeated Team Swagg 56-53, with Jimmy House (Mt. San Antonio College-CA), sealing the win with a block at the rim.

The Bangers were down 53-50 with thirty seconds left when a Reggie Mason (Dunbar high school) bucket with 15 seconds left got the team to within one at 53-52.

Team Swagg then failed to get the ball inbounds, turning it over to the Bangers. On the next possession, the Bangers’ Eugene Davis shot an airball, but Mason was there to clean it up giving the Bangers the lead before House’s game-ending block clinched the win.

House was the enforcer for the Bangers and finished with 4 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks. He controlled the paint which helped 5th Street establish a three-point lead at halftime.

The game was close from start to finish. In the first half, both teams had stellar guard play from their backcourts. Dhontay Ford (Newbury Allen University) went on a personal 10-0 run that helped keep Team Swagg in the game. Ford wouldn’t score again until the 1:45 in the second half.

Eugene Davis (St. Thomas University) was the answer to Ford, giving him a few moves that almost put him on the floor. Davis finished with 7 points.

This is the Bangers’ second straight win that came down to the last bucket. Can they keep their momentum going throughout the summer? Stay Tuned!

LOS ANGELES — In Week 6, LAUNFD suffered one of the most embarrassing losses by a defending champion in Drew League history, scoring only 41 points against a Panthers team that entered the contest with a 1-4 record. But in Week 7, LAUNFD would bring the full squad, including…